M
API Matrix

Open Science Framework API

Science & Math / No Auth Required Beginner HTTPS
Free to Use Varies (check documentation)
87 Score
Grade A
Visit Official Site Compare Alternatives

Overview

The Open Science Framework (OSF) API gives you access to a large open repository of research materials, datasets, preprints, and study designs from researchers around the world. No authentication is needed to read public content, making it easy to search and retrieve publicly shared scientific work. It is useful for developers building research tools, literature aggregators, or academic data dashboards.

💡

Beginner Tip

Start by browsing public projects with a simple GET request — the response includes pagination links in the "links" object, so follow the "next" link to walk through pages of results without figuring out offset parameters manually.

Available Data

repository name and description
star and fork counts
contributor data
issues and pull requests
commit history

Example Response

JSON Response 
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Open Science Framework",
    "description": "Repository and archive for study designs, research materials, data, manuscripts, etc",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

data Array of resource objects (projects, files, etc.) matching your query.
links Pagination links including "next", "prev", "first", and "last" URLs for navigating through results.
meta Metadata about the response including "total" count of matching records and current page info.
attributes Within each data item, contains the resource actual properties like title, description, date_created, and tags.
type The type of resource returned, such as "nodes" for projects or "files" for uploaded files.
id The unique GUID identifier for the resource, used to construct URLs for fetching more details.

Implementation Example 

const url = "https://developer.osf.io/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized on private resources You are trying to access a private project or file without authentication.
✓ Only public resources are accessible without a token. To access private data, generate a Personal Access Token in your OSF account settings and include it as a Bearer token.
Large response slowing down your app The default page size returns many records with nested relationships.
✓ Use the page[size] parameter (e.g., page[size]=5) to limit results, and request only needed fields with fields[nodes]=title,description.
404 Not Found for a node The project GUID in the URL does not exist or has been made private or deleted.
✓ Verify the project GUID from the OSF website URL (e.g., osf.io/abc12) and check that the project is publicly accessible.

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 20/20
🔒 Security 15/15
🛠 Developer XP 15/20
✓ Reliability 7/15
Response Time 39ms

Fully tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Science & Math
Difficulty Beginner
Verified: 2026-04-04

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